Valve's official Steam Machine prototype isn't cheap, but it won't be the only Steam-powered video-game console available come 2014. This morning, iBuyPower revealed a prototype of its own upcoming Steam Machine, which will go on sale for just $499 next year. For the price of an Xbox One, the computer will offer a multicore AMD CPU and a discrete AMD Radeon R9 270 graphics card - that's a $180 GPU all by itself - and come with Valve's Steam Controller as part of the package deal.

That's an absolute steal. This is exactly what Valve is betting on: for the same price, an x86 SteamBox will be more powerful than the new consoles. with SteamOS, it has all the convenience of a console, too. With the launch titles for the two new consoles being total and utter garbage, the argument "but SteamOS has no games!" is moot.

I can't wait until CES coming January when Valve will unveil its publishing partners. That's the make-or-break moment. If SteamOS will get all the same major titles as the consoles, why on earth would anyone want a limited, locked-down, proprietary, slower console?

The main reason some people pick certain consoles now is they have friends that play games on those consoles. Look at any of the games that are available for multiple platforms, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc. If you have it for xbox, you can't play with or against someone who has the same game on ps3, or on the pc. They would have to have the same system as you in order to be able to play with them. That is where a steambox could shine, by allowing people on the pc to be able to play with people on the steambox. Will that happen? Only time will tell.